Themes Of Survival By Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel wrote Night, ten years after his release from the camp of Auschwitz. As a fifteen-year-old boy, his prime concerns have been studying the Talmud and living in a Jewish home, but when his family and the rest of the Jews are taken to Auschwitz, Elie becomes a number tattooed on his arm. In order to ensure one would survive through the camps, Jews would have to put their focus on themselves only, however, there were times in which the Jews would kill each other, including their own family for something as little as a crumb, this is also known as the popular term “survival of the fittest”.

Survival is also one of the themes that appear in the novel because of Ishmael’s past being in the war. He quickly learned that in order for him to survive, he had to hide his

Often, the theme of a novel extends into a deeper significance than what is first apparent on the surface. In the novel Night by Elie Wiesel, the theme of night and darkness is prevalent throughout the story and is used as a primary tool to convey symbolism, foreshadowing, and the hopeless defeat felt by prisoners of Holocaust concentration camps. Religion, the various occurring crucial nights, and the many instances of foreshadowing and symbolism clearly demonstrate how the reoccurring theme of night permeates throughout the novel.

The first reason that the theme of Night is survival is shown by all of the many people that died during the Holocaust to the hands of the Nazis. The first example of this is found when the book states, “Not far from us, flames, huge flames, were rising from a ditch. Something was being burned there. A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies!” (Wiesel 32). In this part of the story, Elie is walking through the camp and watches and babies and children are thrown into a fire and burned. The Germans are throwing these children into the flames and the children die. They babies had no chance to fight back. They were not given the opportunity to even try to survive, as their life was cut short right after it even began. Another example of survival found in the death of Holocaust victims can be found when the book says, “But the third rope was still moving: the child, not too light, was still breathing … And so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death, writhing before our eyes” (Wiesel 65). This boy in the story is being executed by hanging for supposedly helping another man commit a crime. However, he is so young and short that the noose does not work, so the boy struggles for a long time trying to fight against death. Instead of just giving up, he tries to battle against death.

The human race has always struggled with the simple task of being humane. This started with the people killing over land, all the way to terrible events, such as the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel does a great job in his book, Night, talking about some of the things the Nazis did. The Nazis treated the Jewish people in the most inhumane way history has ever seen. The book approaches this just by throwing it directly in one’s face. Elie has a lot to say about humanity and inhumanity, as does Morrie Schwartz. Morrie is a Professor at Brandeis University and does a great job explaining why humanity should overcome inhumanity. Both Elie and Morrie agree that humanity and inhumanity were both very big things in their lifetime and humanity can be achieved through love, and concern for others.

In a desperate moment for survival, a person will act in a spontaneous manner to

in the book “night” by “elie wiesel” we see a boy who was trying to live a normal life but unfortunately for him the nazi’s enter and change his life completely. like elie gets sent to many camps to try and separate him from his father the only source of strength elie had. Over the course of the book, elie changes from a believing person to just a emotionally destroyed person. This is important to the book as a whole because it connects to the of theme of nazi has played a completely negative lifestyle for a person for example when the night at the camp, when elie gets ripped away from his father, but also we see elie show her weakness at the end of the book

“In the desert there is no sign that says, thou shalt eat stone.” -Sufi Proverb (from The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood)

In “Night”, Elie Wiesel develops the idea that survival was the main component to the escape of the horrifying and life taking holocaust. In the novel, Wiesel states “God knows what i would have given to be able to sleep a few moments. But deep inside, I know that sleep meant to die. And something in me rebelled against that death.” This shows that in order to survive there was no room for mistakes, to sleep meant to die and that meant his only option was to survive the tiredness.

As the endless night looms overhead, Elie Wiesel along with the other Jewish prisoners must make mind-boggling decisions between life and death, survival and family, and safety and loyalty. Even in a state of utter dolor, the most difficult decisions must be made in order to survive this horrific and disgusting scheme. While Elie has been slaving away by hauling large slabs of stone onto train cars, he feels his foot begin to swell, and the pain become unbearable. A Jewish Doctor operates on his foot and demands he stay in the infirmary until his foot Ina's healed. Elie begins to enjoy his stay in the infirmary; the better quality food, the shelter and no work. But, to his misfortune, the camps are being evacuated before he can be relieved.

Things changed on liberation day which happened on January 24, “the breach in the barbed wire gave us a concrete image of it. To anyone who stopped to think, it signified no more Germans, no more selections, no work, no blows, no role calls, and perhaps, later, their return.” (Primo 168). The inmates were finally free from the cruelty of the Germans. Unfortunately, a friend of Primo, Sómogyi, gave up his ration for other since he knew he was going to die, but nobody touched the bread.

In the story Night, it also shows how losing sight of your what’s important and giving into your surroundings can result in you not surviving. A siren goes off alerting the anyone in the camps to get inside their blocks leaving an abundance of food out. Hunger overwhelmed a man and he went without thinking of the consequences. The book states, “ A feast for kings, abandoned, supreme temptation! Hundreds of eyes looked at them, sparkling with desire. Two lambs, with a hundred wolves lying in wait for them. Two lambs without a shepherd-a gift. But who would dare> Terror was stronger than hunger Suddenly we saw the door of Block 37 open imperceptibly. A man appeared crawling like a worm in the direction of the cauldrons.” (66). The man succeeds

Her plan was to travel to the United States, to take shelter there and spread God’s word. Although this journey would be very difficult, she planned to travel by train to England then try to seek refuge in the United States’ embassy there. On her four day walk to the nearest train station, just outside of Syria, she came across Yalda, an young girl who is trying to find her father. It’s been three days since Yalda has last seen her father, who was fighting to protect their house and mother. Yalda was sitting in the pouring rain, taking a break from her treacherous search, when Ishtar walked up to her very slowly due to her fatigue. Ishtar said nothing to this girl; however, she gave her all her belongings, a water canister and some linens even though Ishtar probably needed them more. After many sleepless days and nights without life’s bare necessities, Ishtar finally arrived in England at the United States Embassy with her faith still

Survival plays a major throughout the entire story. The most gruesome part in the story

And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.